Last week I was delivering a proposal to a client, and AI helped me expand a section. Every stat in it was made up—I wanted to chuck my laptop out the window.

Why does this happen?

Back when I was writing a long WeChat post, I had AI expand a section—and 3 of the stats didn't match anything. It took me a while to figure it out: tools like ChatGPT are trained on the entire web. They have no idea what's in my head or what I've read.

My friend Xiaolin (does nutrition consulting) hit the same wall. She wanted to write a "what office workers should eat for breakfast" piece and had AI help her organize the 200+ materials she'd saved. The output sounded polished, but the recipes had nothing to do with what she actually tells her clients.

What you need isn't "a smarter AI"—it's "an AI that knows your materials."

What is Flowing? Who's using it?

I recently came across a desktop writing tool called Flowing that tackles exactly this. The play: you import your accumulated PDFs and notes into a local library. When AI helps you write, it automatically pulls relevant snippets from your materials and attaches them—click any sentence to see the source.

The founder, Jim Lau, came from academia. Target users are researchers and students. But watching the demo, I kept thinking—this approach is genuinely useful for us content folks. Writing course scripts, client proposals, long WeChat posts—it's all basically "writing based on what you've already accumulated."

Cost to replicate

I checked the site (flowingapp.com)—right now it's invite-only / early testing, no public pricing.

  • Money: Free while you're in the waiting room. No idea what it'll cost once it launches.
  • Time: Importing materials is a project. You need already-organized PDFs/notes. If your stuff is scattered across WeChat favorites, memos, and a dozen cloud drives, no tool will save you.
  • Technical barrier: Install a desktop app and know how to import files.
  • First step: Drop your email on the site. Also write down "where is all my stuff actually living right now."

Honestly, if you haven't started building a materials stash, this tool isn't for you yet. Start accumulating somewhere—Notion, Feishu, Obsidian, anywhere.

Advice by stage

Just starting out: Right now your move isn't signing up for AI tools—it's getting "what you've written/read/saved" into one place. Even a single Feishu doc counts. Once you've got 30+ pieces of your own material, then start looking at tools like this.

Got 1-2 clients: If you're writing proposals, reports, or content output every week, I'd suggest trying ChatGPT + pasting in your own materials as context first. Flowing is worth waiting for—but while you wait, the rough method works.

Scaling up: If someone on your team is dedicated to writing content (WeChat posts, sales letters, course scripts), "AI writing based on your own materials" is a workflow you'll need eventually. Have them research 2-3 similar tools now so you can switch the moment volume picks up.